“…… The battleship detachment passed through the Panama Canal yesterday and sailed into the Caribbean Sea as a whole, and is expected to arrive at the Norfolk base by 21 July. ”

President Wilson listened to the report of Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Chief of Staff of the Navy, and nodded to Secretary of the Navy Daniels, who was on the side: "Congress will vote on the new Navy bill tomorrow, what do you think?" ”

Daniels straightened his bow tie: "I spoke privately with several powerful people in the House Naval Committee, and they all expressed their dissatisfaction with the bill under consideration. ”

"What?" The president frowned uneasily.

They believe that the bill is too cautious, and should shorten the completion of 13 new capital ships+|year to two years, and stipulate that at least seven new aircraft carriers will be built within two years, and a plan to convert merchant ships and cruisers into aircraft and water carriers should be submitted as soon as possible. In addition, the plan for ordering 3,000 aircraft and water planes for the Navy within three years should also be changed to two Cs...... In addition, the design of new cruisers, destroyers, and submarines should be completed as soon as possible to ensure a balanced and comprehensive renewal of naval equipment......"

"It's a good thing, God forbid, America will never lack true patriots." President Wilson's beard fluttered with excitement.

"It will take time to design an aircraft carrier from scratch, if the British can provide ready-made drawings......" Vice Admiral Sims flashed his beautiful blue eyes.

"Negotiations are already underway, and it is said that the army side also wants to obtain drawings of the new land weapon 'tank' from Britain and France." Daniels glanced at Secretary of the Army Stimson to the side.

"Yes, it is reported that in the Battle of Hawaii, the enemy used a large number of amphibious 'tanks' to quickly break through our positions, so that Oahu, which was defended by 20,000 men, fell completely in only two days. As far as the operation on the European side is concerned. The participation of 'tanks' in the war has a great impact on morale, and our army needs a considerable number of tanks whether it wants to hold on to the mainland or counterattack Hawaii. At present, Britain and France are fighting Germany with all their might, and there are no extra tanks to equip our army, and everything can only be relied on ourselves. Stimson shrugged helplessly. Yes, only on our own, the next three months will be the most difficult period for us, and the enemy, who has superiority at sea, may at any moment concentrate his forces on landing at any point on the west coast of America...... And our navy, on the other hand, has just taken refuge in the warm Caribbean Sea. ”

A week ago, according to the proposal of Lieutenant General Simms. The six remaining dreadnoughts of the main fleet (three of them wounded) sailed out of the San Diego base on the west coast and sailed for the Panama Canal under heavy escort, and their destination was the Norfolk base on the east coast that they had been home six months earlier.

These expensive big guys will be carefully maintained in the large dockyards on the east coast, and they will be equipped with anti-aircraft weapons, and the U.S. Navy battleship force can also look forward to the addition of three new battleships of the 1912-1913 Navy Act by the summer of the following year.

The forces remaining on the West Coast were reorganized on January 20 into the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, which included the 2nd Fleet in San Diego and the 3rd Fleet in Panama.

The new commander of the Pacific Fleet was Senior Admiral William S. Benson, who was also the commander of the 2nd Fleet, which by 22 January consisted of 5 old battleships, 3 armored cruisers, 6 protective cruisers, 18 destroyers, 35 torpedo boats, and 8 submarines. The main mission of the first is to assist the Army in defending the San Diego base.

The commander of the 3rd Fleet was Vice Admiral Schroeder, the former commander of the 3rd Battleship Detachment, and his command included 2 old battleships, 2 armored cruisers, 5 protective cruisers, 14 destroyers, 27 torpedo boats, and 10 submarines. The main task of the 3rd Fleet was to guard the Panama Canal.

In the next 3 months. The fleet was also supported by 9 old battleships aged 15-25, 2 old protective cruisers and 2 new reconnaissance cruisers, 10 destroyers, 22 torpedo boats and 9 submarines.

War Secretary Stimson disagreed, in his opinion. The withdrawal of 6 dreadnoughts is not fundamentally different from the abandonment of the entire Pacific Ocean by the Navy.

"Isn't it time to say cool things, it's been almost a month since the war started, and the army is still not sure to defend the homeland?" Daniels countered and choked Stimson to the point of a bull's eyebrow.

"How's that, are you sure?" The old man spoke, and Stimson had to give the Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Leonard Wood a wink—

"Your Excellency, please allow me to report." Lieutenant General Wood succinctly picked up the conversation.

"As of last week, excluding the 2 regiments still in the Philippines, a total of 59 regiments of the Army are fully mobilized, and 40 of them have been deployed to the west coast. Seven regiments deployed

Horse. In California, the center of defense on the West Coast, 6 divisions were deployed for a total of 28 regiments. To the north, in the state of Washington, one division and four separate regiments were deployed to fight in tandem with the Canadian forces under His Majesty's Majesty. The middle terrain is complex and difficult to land in Oregon, where the 4 regiment is deployed. Two weeks before February, another 10 regiments were deployed to the West Coast, by which time the regular army on the West Coast would have 10 divisions and 17 troops: more than 450,000 troops. ”

"In addition. In just 3 weeks, >.: 8,000 militiamen, 45,000 in Huasheng State, 12,000 in Oregon, they bring their own weapons and provisions, take on tasks such as coast guard, warehouse guarding, etc., these patriots are highly motivated, but lack training and organization, the Army will give them proper guidance, in fact, the task of hunting down enemy nationals can only rely on our loyal and enthusiastic local militias——"

—

The so-called "mission to search for enemy nationals" began with the passage of the National Security Act in Wartime by Congress two weeks ago, which provided for the "centralized custody" of Chinese, Japanese, and North Korean nationals in the country and Panama during the war, that is, to be sent to concentration camps. However, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor by the East Asian coalition forces, a wave of persecution against Asian Americans began in the United States. In San Francisco, when thousands of Chinese and Japanese homes were destroyed and white gunmen roamed the streets, the police not only did not stop them, but warned white residents not to harbor their Asian neighbors. In Los Angeles, the mob put captured East Asian expatriates into flax bags, doused them with gasoline and set them on fire, allowing the victims to scream and roll and onlookers applaud. On the outskirts of Seattle, a row of gallows was erected on the beach, hung with the corpses of yellow people, and the mob claimed, "Let these piglets say hello to their accomplices on the other side of the ocean." ”

As a devout Christian – and more importantly in light of the possible retaliatory measures by the East Asian coalition – President Wilson could not sit idly by and at the suggestion of Secretary of State Lansing, he urged Congress to pass an amendment to the wartime national security law to put Chinese and Japanese expatriates in concentration camps and placed in the custody of the government at the expense of "certain emotionally uncontrollable radicals." On the one hand, it prevents the spread of atrocities and damages the national image of the United States, and on the other hand, it serves as a bargaining chip with the East Asian Alliance in exchange for possible detention of American nationals......

At this moment, President Wilson has no interest in the fate of the hundreds of thousands of "enemy nationals", and what he needs is reassurance.

"General Wood, do you mean that even if the enemy comes now, the army has the ability to drive them out to sea?"

"This ...... It depends......" As soon as he asked the substance, Wood immediately became slumped.

"What kind of situation can be done?" The president asked.

"It depends on how many troops the other side can put in in a short period of time, and it also depends on the place where the landing will be made. Specifically, in the most likely scenario, if the other side sends 10 heavy armorers in California within a week, we will not be able to drive them into the sea in the short term, and of course, they will not be able to defeat us. It will then evolve into a protracted war, and in the process many towns in California will be in ruins, but one day we will be far more powerful on the mainland than the enemy entrenched in our small part of the land, and then we will launch a full-scale counteroffensive, cutting off their retreat, encircling them, and watering our farmland with their blood. Wood snapped his head on.

"In addition, based on the intelligence of all aspects, the main force of the East Asian coalition forces is busy fighting with Russia, Britain, France, and the Netherlands, and it should not be able to draw so many troops for a while. Moreover, Pearl Harbor and Honululu Harbor have been blocked by our military shipwrecks, and until these ports are restored, it will be difficult for the enemy fleet to continue to operate along our coast and will not be able to support such a large-scale landing operation. ”

Hearing this, Wilson turned to Sims lightly: "How long will it take for the other party to restore the function of the Hawaiian port?" ”

"It's estimated to take two to three months."

Wilson nodded, then turned back to ask Wood, "How long do you think the fighting around the South China Sea will go?" More importantly, how long can the Philippines hold out? ”

"The Philippines, which cannot get reinforcements, can hold out for three or four months at most. Without strong support from Britain, France, and the Netherlands, the fighting in the entire South China Sea is expected to end before the summer, not to mention the French Indo-China, which has given up resistance, and the Dutch East Indies will fall completely, and British Malay and even Burma will be occupied. ”

"It should be emphasized that during this period, the Panama Canal could be attacked at any time......"